Autonomic nerve preserving total mesorectal excision.

The main objectives of surgery for rectal cancer are cure and the prevention of local or pelvic recurrence. Preservation of pelvic autonomic functions are important associated goals that have influenced the design of the operation. These changes began with modifications to the art of lateral pelvic lymphadenectomy, and with the introduction of sharp pelvic dissection along anatomical pelvic fascial planes for rectal cancer in the mid-1970s. These changes evolved to include deliberate autonomic nerve preservation as a part of the operation that was ultimately reported as TME with ANP [1]. While it is a small nuance. dissection was generally directed to the widest possible pelvic margin--medial to the autonomic nerves, as opposed to just peripheral to the mesorectum. Both sexual and urinary functions are complex. and patients undergoing surgery for rectal cancer may have differing baseline levels of function. Pre-existing benign prostatic hypertrophy or stress incontinence are common physical conditions. Patients bring personal or cultural attitudes to the subject of sexual function with advancing years. in a population with a median age in the mid-sixties. Other health issues such as coronary artery or peripheral vascular atherosclerotic disease, diabetes mellitus. smoking or alcohol intake, or the use of medications to treat these conditions, may influence sexual function. Radiation therapy, frequently used in conjunction with chemotherapy in the treatment of rectal cancer, may be associated with its own incidence of impotence caused via a different mechanism. While radiation may affect the vasa nervosa of the autonomic nerves, leading to fibrosis and dysfunction. radiation therapy may also be associated with smooth muscle fibrosis, causing vasculogenic impotence due to penile outflow dysfunction in the corpora cavernosa. The causes of impotence after surgery alone or after surgery. radiation, and chemotherapy for rectal cancer are complex, and not all answers to the problem reside in autonomic nerve-preservation. Attention to all of the potential causes of impotence and of urinary dysfunction will require continued longitudinal research by clinical investigators from multiple disciplines.